Aizawl, July 28 -- Mizoram faces a severe shortage of essential supplies, especially fuel, as the Mizoram Oil Tankers Drivers' Association (MOTDA) has suspended operations since July 19 due to dangerously poor road conditions on the Aizawl-Silchar highway, the state's main artery.

With only a few vehicles on Aizawl's streets, most petrol stations have run dry. Repair work has started on the worst-damaged section of National Highway 306, between Kawnpui and Sairang, but the impact on transportation remains critical.

Officials from the state's Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) department told TOI on Sunday that around 50 oil tanker trucks received challans at Vairengte town, near the Assam border, by 9:30 pm Saturday. These...